“With all the publicity that Windows and Linux get, you may be forgiven for not being aware of a number of other operating systems. Yet there are many other choices that I find interesting and as useful alternatives. Five Desktop Alternatives…” Read the article at Byte.
An Octet of Operating Systems
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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he finds OpenBeOS a viable useful alternative.. riiight.. i know it can’t be downloaded anywhere, (ok, cvs) but i’d like to know if he made his own distro then?
He says:
“Be is here again in two forms—the original flavor, BeOS 5 Personal, and the developing OpenBeOS, which is an open source project on Sourceforge”
Notice he says “developing”. He doesn’t say it’s available. But I can certainly see how you read it that way and he was remiss not to come out and say that it isn’t usable yet.
Still, it’s amazing that he noticed this.
I use Virtual PC on w2k to run Windows XP (just to check out the UI), Linux, DOS (!), and OS/2 3. I’ve been rather dissapointed with the stability of the OSen under Virtual PC. Redhat 7.2 behaves oddly, especially on the console, and I received several internal compiler errors while compiling the garnome GNOME 2.0 distro. I couldn’t get BeOS to run at all on it.
Another fun emulator is Basilisk II, a Mac 68K emulator. It is open source, but you’ll need a ROM image from a suitable old Mac (they can be found for $20-$50 from various sources). System 7.5.5 is available on Apple’s web site for free. I always wanted a Mac. Now I have one
And it runs faster emulated than the system the ROM came from 
> System 7.5.5 is available on Apple’s web site for free..
All right, I’ve inherited an old Quadra 950 — where can I get the update?
Actually, it is 7.5.3. It is here -> http://www.info.apple.com/support/oldersoftwarelist.html under System Software Downloads. There are other updates there too. Don’t know what requirements they have.
Basilisk II is here http://www.uni-mainz.de/~bauec002/B2Main.html
If OS/2 (eCS) is trying to push as an alternative operating system, it’s not doing it’s self any favours selling for €427.21/£271.03/$423.49
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Up…
http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Up…
Dude,
I paid a little over $100 (US) for it.
Tsk Tsk Add Microsoft Office XP to Window XP Professional then compare. $479.00 (Office XP standard) + $299.99 (WinXP Pro) != $464.00 (eCS). Your point is not even valid. Think before complaining.
Beside if you don’t want the Lotus SmartSuite then wait for version 1-1. It is going to have a lower price.
umm.. why again?
Every review I’ve seen makes it out to be the most useless pos ever.
He seems to have missed QNX 6.2 NC. This is a great OS for someone interested in a POSIX development environment and performs well on older hardware, something Linux used to do but doesn’t anymore.
I’ve seen it offered for the price he said, but if there’s a place to legally get it for $100 like someone else muttered, I sure didn’t find it.
“Tsk Tsk Add Microsoft Office XP to Window XP Professional then compare. $479.00 (Office XP standard) + $299.99 (WinXP Pro) != $464.00 (eCS). Your point is not even valid. Think before complaining. ”
My price for all of this software – free off of alt.binaries.cd.image
Anyway, all of these ‘alternative’ operating systems (and I’m talking about the ones that have been developed to the point where you can actually USE them) have the same problem that Linux does – they don’t have all the apps I want to run. And I’ll be dammed if I’m going to try and run something like Gigastudio and MTron inside of VMWare
Are there any OpenBeOS screen shots we can see? I am interested in how it looks.
There aren’t any besides a rewritten Preferrences plug-in or something like that.
BEOS is so modular that parts of the OS are developed and literally dropped in on top of a standard BEOS R5. If the open source version works in the regular version then all is well.
Oh yes, sorry I forgot, there are a few pics of the new Kernel booting (www.openbeos.net), but is not ready to be used in any real capacity yet, and certainly does not boot into a GUI.
Please let me know where you can get OS/2 for $100. Also I thought this OS was being phased out. If so, how is this a viable OS?
“Are there any OpenBeOS screen shots we can see? I am interested in how it looks.”
Something like this:
http://www.beosjournal.org/images/obos_kernel.jpg
IIRC, OBOS R1 should be similar to BeOS R5 in appearance and function.
I should have added “when finished.” to my above post.
Please let me know where you can get OS/2 for $100.
At that price it’s a pirated or second hand version.
Also I thought this OS was being phased out. If so, how is this a viable OS?
It still is well sorta but then, like most IBM software, they forgot that almost all their big paying account are still using OS/2. IBM drones are like governement pencil pushers: their own reality and the reality *outside* are completely different! Think AS/400s, B2B, ecommerce, thin clients, Java and more…
Journalism isn’t what it used to be. Unless it always was general, unhelpful, misleading and incorrect. Articles for people who don’t know, written by people who know only slightly more. Byte… bites. The only reason this article exists is because they need to write an article to fit the genre of “Advanced software and Technologies” and “Alternative Computing.” This article is pulp trash. I can’t be this sloppy with MY work!
OpenBeOS is not a useful alternative. When it is complete, sure it will be. But, my goodness, not now. And it is not being developed by Be!! Now, BeOS Personal Edition is certainly usable and useful, assuming you’re not the kind of reader this article is likely to be addressing: average PC users who think they have to (or are required to) use MS Office.
“Three Emulator/Virtual Machine Systems…”These are NOT alternatives to any OS!
How is Amiga a useful alternative? Please correct me if I am wrong, but I’ve yet to see how one could buy a system and Amiga OS to get started with Amiga in any way other than emulation. I like Amiga, btw. It’s just not a “useful alternative” for the kind of reader this article is targeting.
And yeah, where can you get OS/2, the current version (eCom or not) for $100?
Hi, does anybody know what is posix and what is opposit of it (I mean windows, dos and so)? I just hope that this question isn’t like asking what does a car do
“The name POSIX comes from Portable Operating System interface for unIX. The name was suggested by Richard Stallman.”
Quote from the book POSIX Programmer’s Guide: Writing Portable UNIX Programs.
Thank you Andrew and Ansis5 for the useful info and the link.
Posix is a standard system interface. Unixes tend to be relatively compliant. American government contracts often require it, so Windows includes some POSIX compliance, but it’s more a token gesture than anything useful to a programmer.
http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/POSIX
I’m disappointed that he didn’t include QNX. QNX is a far more viable desktop alternative than OpenBeOS at this point. It has a very nice interface (IMO), its fast as hell, and it has a pretty large selection of apps. There aren’t too many binaries, but you can compile alot of stuff from source.
OpenBeOS, an open source version of the OS developed by Be
I didn’t know Be Inc. sponsored OBOS. Heck, I didn’t even know there were ex-staff and Be staff working on the project…
OS/2 was a cooperative effort between Microsoft and IBM. Yep, the two goliaths were cooperating, in principle at least.
At that time, MS wasn’t a goliath. When the IBM-Microsoft marriage broke, notice how every other geek praised Microsoft?
So if I understand right, all, Linux, Be Os and Bsd are posix compliant or similar to it?
In wikipedia i saw that also behavior can be posix compliant, so how does windows in latest incarnation keeps up with .nix, it’s kernel and so, is it really so much different?
How different is linux from unix (solaris,HP-UX) in being a unix?
thanks
I too am dissappointed that QNX was not mentioned… I guess either because:
1) some people get intimidated using QNX when they hear its a realtime OS (RTOS) as if require a nuclear scientist to use it 8^),
or
2) some people see it as an embedded OS not as an alternative desktop OS,
or
3) he did not know / never heard of QNX before.
8^)
FoRReST GuMP
I think it’s pretty obvious that Mr. Nichols isn’t much up on operating systems.
2) some people see it as an embedded OS not as an alternative desktop OS
It’s basic task is as a development platform for embedded devices, not to kick MS’s ass.
>> 2) some people see it as an embedded OS not as an alternative desktop OS
> It’s basic task is as a development platform for embedded devices, not to kick MS’s ass.
On Desktop…no .. but in the embedded teritory, kicks WinCE and even Wind River’s VxWorks. (see http://www.qnx.com/news/pr/jul23_02_qnxwin.html/ OR
http://www.dedicated-systems.com/Encyc/ )
also, see Dedicated Systems Expert “Comparison Report between QNX NEUTRINO RTOS v6.2 and Red Hat Embedded Linux Development Suite (ELDS v1.1)” …. QNX outclass RH Embedded Linux in 5 categories and match in the remaining 2. .. (see http://www.dedicated-systems.com/Encyc/ … <<< you have to register)..
> It’s basic task is as a development platform for embedded devices, not to kick MS’s ass.
That’s QNX SSL company point of view.
But, since version 6.0 which was free for non-commercial use, developers who tried it have ported / compiled many GNU apps. Today you can find a lot of useful apps under QNX, but it is still far from what Windows offers.
I believe though not so much are missing for a daily use.
Games, maybe
And there portability can only be achieved through standardized libs (i mean SDL, OpenGL, etc…)
Those are not at DirectX level IMHO
Hi rajan,
He is not saying that Be is developping an open source version of the OS, he is saying that OpenBeOS is an open source version of the OS developped by Be.
I’ll agree: the way he is writing it is pretty confusing!
Even though English is my first language (more like Manglish, hehe – Malaysian English), he could have fooled me. if I never knew anything about Be or OBOS, I would believe him, visted OBOS website and wonder, “What kind of stupid company releases their entire IP on MIT license?”
And you know more than me (I read your other posts). But while answering your post I was aiming at who doesn’t know.
>>OpenBeOS, an open source version of the OS developed by Be
I didn’t know Be Inc. sponsored OBOS. Heck, I didn’t even know there were ex-staff and Be staff working on the project…
he says OpenBeOS is an open source version of the OS “developed by Be” aka BeOS. So it’s an open source version of BeOS.
Journalism isn’t what it used to be. Unless it always was general, unhelpful, misleading and incorrect. Articles for people who don’t know, written by people who know only slightly more. Byte… bites. The only reason this article exists is because they need to write an article to fit the genre of “Advanced software and Technologies” and “Alternative Computing.” This article is pulp trash. I can’t be this sloppy with MY work!
Sadder still, the recent incarnation of Byte is an improvement over what it was several (more than several years ago). In that era of its history, an article on Linux spoke about its IDE device support. The article “helpfuly” explained the acronym: Integrated Development Environment. Not when we’re talking about drives.
Byte’s early strength was that that it was more technical than its competition. The best free stuff on the Internet was not a subject it regularly covered (or the equivalent of its day). Today, Byte is better than it was at its nadir, but no where near its zenith.
Rob Campbell